


Old Magic

by KailynBail



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Frostback Basin, Magic, Old Magic, cameo appearances from other characters, cullen takes a vacay, the avvar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 08:27:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11755926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KailynBail/pseuds/KailynBail
Summary: Cullen didn't care for the Avvar. He respected them and their simple doctrine... but he didn't care for their view on... "gods". But, he went where he was needed and the Inquisition apparently "needed" him in the Frostback basin, to smooth over relations with the Avvar there. Their neighbors. Besides... he was in need of a little fresh-air... before the whole of Skyhold kicked him out for irritating them all.[This is currently unfinished but is at a good stopping point - I'm working on more chapters.]





	1. Chapter 1

“I don’t understand why the Inquisitor is sending me.” Cullen reiterated… for what must have been the tenth time for the way Josephine nearly rolled her eyes at him.

“Because you are the Commander of his forces and he would see _you_ make peace with the Avvar that inhabit the basin… what better way to show the Inquisition’s _peaceful_ intentions than to send our Commander _without_ an army?” Josephine jabbed at him with her quill, pointing out that fact… yet again. Cullen just deplored diplomacy, in any way, shape, or form. He was just being stubborn.

Cullen stifled the urge to groan as he cinched the drawstring on his pack, folding the flap over and buckling the few that held it closed entirely. “At least tell me that they are expecting me.”

Josephine narrowed her eyes at him and his tone. “Of course, they are. Thane…” She ran her quill down her dossier, hovering just so, searching for the name again. “Sun-Hair? Has been made aware of your impending arrival.” Truthfully, she was glad that the Inquisitor had selected Cullen to go on this small but vastly important mission of meet and greet with the Avvar, if only so that he would get the heck out of Skyhold! The man had left a handful of times in the full year plus that they had been here, even though Coryphaeus laid slain six months past. The Commander could use a break! He had been doing… so well, he was clear and she could tell that his pain had lightened, his need for Lyrium was something in the past though… she couldn’t be entirely sure that it was gone all together, she just knew that he looked better and he sparred with the soldiers more, looked less strained and was getting more sleep than he had before.

Cullen gave a subtle nod, mentally rehearsing the name. The Avvar were spread all over Thedas at one point or another but now, they resided in this small area of the Frostback basin… and he could… perhaps… use a change of scenery. He threw the pack over his shoulder and aimed for the stables, forcing himself to ignore the gnawing sense of responsibility over his troops that chased him.


	2. Chapter 2

Cullen wasn’t entirely sure how he and his men were going to be received… but he damned sure wasn’t expecting the envoy that was waiting for him at the forward camp in the basin. The single camp that stood on the edge of the region that was… so damned beautiful that it nearly took his breath away when they descended out of the range of mountains that separated them… from this. A group of soldiers had already been sent ahead of him, to make this camp… and all of them were nervously eyeing the Avvar envoy when Cullen arrived. Apparently, this was the first any of them had seen any of _them_. There were only three but three were enough to set the soldiers on edge.

Cullen dismounted and settled his hand on the hilt of his sword, his back aching from the long ride… but his sharp eyes were already fixed upon the figure in the center of the three, where the leader always sat. As he walked briskly through the camp, Rylen came up beside him. “How long have they been waiting.” He spoke low, weaving around another group of men sitting around a fire.

Rylen shook his head, eyes fixed on the Avvar still. “For three days. They camp at night but come dawn, they are right back in those bloody saddles, they haven’t spoken a word, it’s downright eerie.”

Cullen’s eyes flared at the information… he swallowed down the sudden tension in his throat. The three figures were all sitting atop mighty draft horses… mountain horses… the horse’s thick hooves covered in feathering, the saddles covered most of the animal’s backs, sides… thick black leather, their bridles the same. The horse’s tails and manes left to grow long and natural… the Avvar themselves? Well, they were dressed as Cullen had expected. Leather, fur, wrought iron, nary a shiny metal to be seen… straps that hung heavy with trinkets, bone, claws, talismans… fingerless gloves… near black stained fingers… gripping the reigns as the horses began to shift for their rider’s sudden attentiveness. They wore hoods, fur lined and thick against the chill… his own fur a welcomed addition in this cold, even still, he wore thermals under his usual attire. Their faces… he couldn’t see them… they wore scraps of leather or fabric over their noses and mouths and the rest must have been smeared with war paint in that same dark color for all he saw was the white of their eyes and their coloration. The one in the center had light blue… the two that flanked that one… brown, so dark they might be black. He could tell that the two on the outside were both men… but the one in the center, he wasn’t sure. There was a feminine quality there but… he’d not be presumptuous, lest this simply be a graceful man.

“Very well.” He finally said to Rylen before he stepped faster, surging ahead, aiming for them. He could _feel_ their eyes on him… he didn’t let it bother him, not for a moment, he _was_ the Commander, after all. He came to a stop just before them, eyes flicking between all three before locking with the blue eyed one. “My name is Commander Cullen, leader of the Inquisition’s forces. I have a meeting with your Thane, and seeing as how you are here… I assume you know that.” He paused for but a moment, when he got no response, he just blinked and shook his head slightly. “I have only just arrived, if you give me a moment to resupply and g…” His voice died, one hand already gesturing behind him… as he stared openly at the blue eyed one… and the hand that was extending down and out to him… in greeting?

Cullen stepped closer, having to move around to the side of the massive draft to do so, reaching to shake the hand, only for the rider to reach further and clasp his forearm, the armor bracer tensing beneath the grip… he felt firm leather armor beneath the fur this one wore. He returned the firm hold… and he wasn’t entirely sure _what_ happened. All he heard was _you talk too much, Lowlander_ and the next thing he knew, he was scrambling to _not_ fall off the side of that one’s horse! He felt a strong hand jerk him up by the shoulder, a sharp and truth be told, alarmed, look sent to the man to his left as he righted him. He had no choice but to hang on! He heard the man to his right speak as they all three turned their hoses. _Thane Sun-Hair requests the Commander’s presence at once._ Then, the one he was forced to wrap around… and now he was fairly certain it was a woman… kicked and the horses took off in a deafening thunder of powerful hooves. He heard Rylen yell after him… he glanced over his shoulder and shook his head slightly, hoping that Rylen wouldn’t do anything exponentially stupid.


	3. Chapter 3

Cullen’s suspicions were confirmed regarding the gender of the Avvar he was being forced to hang on to when they reached the mud-flats. _She_ barked out an order of some kind to one of the men as they split up… he soon found out why. Snowy Wyverns as far as he could see were dotting the wide shoreline, digging in the mud, for what, he couldn’t guess. He reached, hand gripping his sword hilt when they drew closer… he looked down sharply when he felt a strong grip on his hand… stilling him. _No, Lowlander,_ was all she said. The Wyverns all noticed them… and they all missed them, the three individual targets weaving in and out of their apparent foraging grounds. As soon as they hit the path once more, he heard the two others fall in behind them… and that’s when he saw it. The torches… lining a path that lead up the seaside cliff face. They barreled past the guards… the horses thundering across a bridge that swayed violently with the act, causing Cullen to tense and the damned Avvar in front of him to slap at his hand, as if he was squeezing too tightly. He could hardly keep up with his eyes for all the things they were passing, people leaping out of their way… barely slowing as they turned sharp corners, climbing up and up… further still… he glanced and couldn’t again, the path too narrow… and they were a _long_ way up… but the sun setting out on the water… he finally took a breath as the horses came to a slow… and then finally stopped. He didn’t wait to be told anything, he dismounted quickly… which was apparently expected for he felt like he was being left behind. As if he were already being tested… he had to lengthen his gate just to keep up. He followed _her_ , the other two men… followed him… under a stone arch, under leathers that served as walls… and into a cave the likes of which he had never seen before. A hearth in the center… a fire roaring… and a throne.

Thane Sun-Hair looked up from the child who had been speaking to her regarding what he had seen on the water fishing with his father that day when the envoy returned. Her eyes flew over this _Commander_ … the way he walked spoke of being a warrior with experience, the way he felt comfort from the sword hilt in his hand… spoke of a fighter’s spirit… and the way his eyes found her and then flew around the room and back spoke of suspicion, he wasn’t stupid… good. The scars on his face, spoke of battles he either lost… or fought bravely in. But the thing that she noticed the _most_ … was the Templar emblems on his bracers. That… simply would not do. But she’d not speak of that amongst so many. She felt the woman’s hand settle on her shoulder, she covered it with a gentle pat and turned her cheek up to receive the chaste kiss, the woman having dropped her face shield to do so. Then, and only then, did she speak to the man they had brought to her. “You are Cullen… Commander of the Inquisition’s forces, or so we are told.” She absentmindedly waved at the child as he left with his Mother. “It is rare that we allow lowlanders into our hold, Cullen… I hope you understand how precarious your situation is.”

Cullen watched the Thane interact with the people… and then he was addressed, he couldn’t help but square his stance and stand as he always did, with authority. He gave a subtle bow though at her words. “I have been made aware, Thane Sun-Hair. The Inquisitor believes that I can… somehow…” He took a shallow breath and stalled, searching for the right words for a moment. “Convince you of the Inquisition’s peaceful intentions by coming alone.”

Svarah smirked at this man who acted as though he’d rather be _anywhere_ else. “But you didn’t come alone… did you?” She saw him shift his weight slightly. “You brought… how many men, Kalian?”

One of the men who had escorted him up the mountain pulled his hood and face shield down, revealing a fierce looking warrior, everywhere else on his face bare of paint, his hair kept long but bound up in many dreads. “Thirty-five with ten more that accompanied him, My Thane.” He damn near sneered at the lowlander, he didn’t like having him here, at all.

Cullen glanced over his shoulder at the man, this Kalian, before returning his attention the Thane. “A squad, nothing more.”

Svarah’s brows perked at his tone. “How large are your forces when forty-five is considered _nothing more_ , lowlander?”

Cullen saw that question for what it was plainly enough and he was grateful that this Thane had no use for beating around the bush, it seemed. “Ten thousand strong.” He felt the tension in the room spike. “Less forty-five, of course.”

Svarah shifted her jaw at his answer… and then his quip at the end, though by the look on his face, she could tell that he hadn’t meant it as a jest. “Naturally.” She narrowed her eyes at him in thought before she clapped her hands sharply… and the cave emptied save her… and the envoy that had brought him. Once they were gone… gone was her eased expression and in its place, a fierce hardness that was what made her Thane in the first place. “Arainne…” She kicked her chin towards the lowlander, the woman’s name coming out more _ha-Dane_ in their accent.

Cullen felt his nerves climbing as the cave was emptied… then, the look on the Thane’s face. The Avvar woman… now he got a look at her in earnest. She had blonde hair… braided back many times over… black around her eyes and over the bridge of her nose like her brethren but the rest left to bare… and… he had to still himself for a moment. She was… beautiful. Stunning, actually. But, there was a familiarity there… his eyes flicked from her… to the Thane… back… again… understanding dawned. This was her daughter. He got a name, Hadane? She walked up to him… her eyes were damn near colorless set against the orange glow of the fire. He didn’t know what to expect. Not now.

Arainne stepped up to the lowlander, the man who was… there was something about him. But it was… strange. She saw the way he was looking at her, his thoughts churning over information… he was a leader, that much was plain to see. He was strategizing, learning… everything. She reached quickly, taking hold of his belt… just as Kalain and Bron took hold of his arms and wrestled with him for a moment. “Be still.” She said simply… she undid it and pulled it and his sword off, holding the sword up and turning it around in her hold, a subtle nod given before she set it down, leaning it against the tall wall of the hearth, it would be fine there. She stepped over and started unbuckling the bracer on his right arm.

Cullen strained but didn’t freak out… his breath was coming quickly from his nose… he wasn’t… sure what was going on. When she reached for those buckles though… he tensed and jerked. “WHAT are you doing…” His voice came out a bark at first and then lower after.

Arainne raised a brow at him as she jerked the buckles loose and tugged his bracer off him. She held it up to him and slapped at the Templar emblem. “This here? Templars are not welcome here.” She said it with a bit of a sneer, attitude lacing her words. “Wear this around the hold and you _will_ be hurt.” She set it down on the wall of the hearth and moved to the other one.

Cullen blinked at her explanation… and just… went quiet. He hadn’t… even thought about… he watched as she removed the other bracer. Then he tensed again, taking a step back as much as he could. “That is the symbol of the Inquisition.” He said defiantly, her hands slipping beneath his fur collar for the buckles of his breastplate.

Arainne gave him a droll look. “You think me ignorant, lowlander?” She ground out. “This metal is going to freeze you to death.” She went about the task of removing all of his armor.

Cullen stood there sullenly, tugging at the ones who held him every now and again, just for the fuck of it at this point. Once Hadane was done, he looked at the Thane pointedly. “You could have just said something, I don’t need someone to undress me, I am not a child.” He ground out, he didn’t expect to feel the back of Hadane’s hand across his jaw. He blinked wide, ears ringing.

Arainne looked at him sharply. “Hold your tongue.”

Cullen stood straighter… eyes snapping in anger at the woman… his arms tensing as he pulled at the men, causing them to draw closer to him for a moment before the pulled back. He _glared_ at Hadane as she started moving her hands all over him… he realized after a few passes that she was checking him for weapons. When she was at his ear, he damn near jumped for how her low spoken whisper startled him. _Be still and silent, this must be done. It is a right… without it, you will not leave this cave._ She withdrew before he could speak or even acknowledge that she had spoken. She pulled the knife off the back of his calf, in his boot, and set it on the hearth before declaring that he was without weapons. The men immediately released him.

Svarah nodded and stood up, pulling her coat off… revealing her standard dress, she held her arms out after she stepped towards him… Arianne going about removing her weapons. She held the Commander’s eye the entire time. Once it was done, she approached him and the men backed off but she heard the telling sound of weapons being set down. “Now… we can truly greet each other and speak of peace.” She held a hand out to him.

Cullen heard the leather creaking and looked around… noticing that… Hadane and the men, Kalain and the other, were removing their weapons and setting them on the floor by their own feet. Then… his attention fixed upon the Thane. Her expression… and her words both were… far gentler. He took her hand and gave her a bow, setting her knuckles to his brow as opposed to kissing them, something he never did… but he did the brow thing. He righted and nodded. He got it now… he understood. You couldn’t speak of peace with a sword on your hip.

Cullen listened as the Thane spoke of the Hakkonites, the trade routes, the wars, and all that had transpired in the basin since she had been Thane. They sat… food and drink were brought in… and he was… oddly comfortable. She decreed that he could stay. When she said that, he assumed she meant the night, since it was no doubt late, heck, it was getting dark when he arrived at the forward camp. He was strapping his own weapons back on when the Thane approached him again, that woman Hadane with her.

Svarah smiled softly at Arainne, perking her brows at the Commander… her daughter scoffing quietly at her. She shook her off before gesturing to her and catching the Commander’s eye. “While you have seen her and know of her birth name, I introduce to you my only daughter, Arainne An Svarah O Stone-Bear. She will be your responsible… one? While you are here.”

Cullen looked at Hadane and the way she sort of gave him an awkward hello expression… the Thane’s words confusing him for a moment before he figured out what she meant. Hadane was his warden. He nodded to her. “That’s most kind.” He didn’t see why he’d need one for the night though. The Thane decreed that Hadane was to show him where he could stay. That was confusing as well but he simply reached for his armor… and was quickly reprimanded. Hadane was there, with a burlap bag. She stuffed the pieces into it before offering it to him. _No one must see them._ She said low before walking out of the cave. He had to, once more, lengthen his gate to keep up.


	4. Chapter 4

Cullen was blown away by the view of the sea from up here… and they were still traveling upwards… around another bend… and further still! Until they reached a cabin that had many wind chimes hanging outside.

Arainne opened the door and gestured for him to go inside. “Inside, lowlander.” It was late and she was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed.

Cullen nodded a nod of thanks and walked right in as if it were… and he stalled out. This… he heard the door shut behind him and… she walked around him, already working her coat off. This was her house. This wasn’t guest… quarters… or… he cleared his throat. “Is there… somewhere else?”

Arainne hung her coat up and blinked at his question. “No.” She answered simply before waving a hand at the hearth, the flames roaring to life.

Cullen blinked at her blunt answer and then went… quiet… at her open use of magic. “You’re a mage?”

Arainne rolled her eyes as she started working her leather armor off. “Yes, Templar, I am a mage.”

Cullen bristled. “I’m not a Templar.”

Arainne smirked. “Could have fooled me with the symbols you wore.”

Cullen shook his head and set his bag down by the door. “May I borrow a blanket?”

Arainne looked at him with a confused expression. “Why?”

Cullen gave her a droll stare before gesturing to the floor. “So I can go to sleep.”

Arainne barked out a laugh as she sat down on the foot of her bed, tugging her boots off. “The bed is large enough for more than two, lowlander, even you can see that.”

Cullen visibly stiffened at the suggestion, even though her bed made a mockery of the largest bed he’d seen. It was easily a foot wider than even the Inquisitor’s opulent bed. “I’d rather not.”

Arainne shook her head at him. “You lowlanders… I swear, it’s a wonder there are any of you running around down there for how scared you lot are of beds.”

Cullen sighed heavily. “What… I’m not scared of a bed… it’s just… look, I don’t know you and you don’t know me, aren’t you concerned about that? I’m some strange man, you just met me, aren’t you worried I’ll… I don’t know… do something?” He gestured at the bed, giving her an incredulous look.

Arainne stood up and started untying her leathers, she gave him a mischievous look. “Why… will you?” She saw the flare of pink bloom over his cheeks immediately. _Of course not._ He huffed. “Then what is there to worry over?” She dropped her leathers and stepped out of them, her shift came next. She pulled back the furs and climbed in, a groan being let out as she stretched… oh how she missed her bed. She was asleep before she could have another thought.

Cullen’s eyes widened slightly at her blatant nudity… he turned sharply before he… glanced over his shoulder. She was… his brow creased as he took a step closer… already asleep. _She had been waiting for three days apparently._ He sighed heavily and rubbed at the back of his neck before he decided that he’d sleep on top of the furs… and he’d only take his boots and coat off.


	5. Chapter 5

Cullen came awake to the sound of sea birds… and the smell of salt on the air. The windows of the cabin were all open, letting the breeze and the sun in. He scrubbed at his face and started to sit up, bracing himself… he winced and tensed, hissing as the pain flew up his spine, as it always did… true, it was better now… but his body still punished him over the lack of Lyrium. He groaned and rolled, near falling back down onto the bed, his face pressing into the pillow as he started to curl, his knees pulling up towards his body, a fine layer of seat breaking out over him. He heard… something… did he? His eyes were squeezed shut so tight, it was a wonder he didn’t break his eyelids… he felt… something at his back? Wait… didn’t he… go to sleep with his tunic on? He realized he was without it about a second before he realized it was huffs of breath that he felt… and then he heard the gruff huff of a large… very large… animal… right behind him… followed quickly by a sort of moan that could not be mistaken. He flipped over in a second, his body screaming at him for the action, eyes wide as he scrambled away from the fucking _bear!_ “What the fuck!” He flew backwards, hand hitting the edge of the bed as the damn bear reached its neck, nose aiming for him, beady black eyes pinned on him, another sort of groan coming from it a second before he fell off the damn bed, he landed hard, his body lit up with renewed pain and he felt his bones rattle… but he was on his feet as quickly as he could… that’s when he heard a woman.

Arainne came rushing in, hands reaching, taking hold of the leather strapping that went around Storvaker’s mane. “Storvaker, that’s enough. You’ll scare the lowlander to death…” She gave a tug, leaning her entire weight away from the bear just so the bear knew she was tugging… had to. The bear gave another mournful sound, stretching towards the terrified man again. “Come, Storvaker! You should not be in a house, it is the woods that you belong! Hunt, Storvaker, go hunt!” She finally got the bear moving.

Cullen found himself in the corner, his breath sawing as he watched Hadane usher the damn bear out of her damn house! His heart pounding as he set his hands to his knees, trying to catch his breath and still the tremble that was brought on by his pain. He had to get a handle on it right quick and in a hurry… but he wasn’t used to fucking falling right after waking up… his body wasn’t forgiving him for that so quickly. Hadane came back in a few moments later, a comfortable but somewhat apologetic look on her face… before it changed. He cursed under his breath as he righted, forcing himself to… and praying she didn’t see the shake the action caused.

Arainne saw the way the man shook… but his eyes, this wasn’t fear. This was pain. She cut her eyes away and awkwardly offered him a fresh tunic… even turning her side towards him as she did so. “Dress, lowlander. I did you a kindness by letting you sleep… hold life starts early, you have already missed much.”

Cullen took the shirt with a perplexed expression, turning it over in his hands, this… wasn’t his… as soon as he did, she just… left. He opened his mouth, intending to ask her what was going on… he… wasn’t… staying… but… he made a face and pulled the tunic on, forcing himself to move smoother than his body wanted to. He worked his boots on slowly… weapons… fur came last before he picked up his bag and stepped outside only to feel the bag tugged out of his grip, he blinked at Hadane… as she put it back inside. “Um…” She also tugged at his sleeve before she walked off, damn near pulling him behind her entirely before she let go. Gone was the war paint from the day before… and that made her even more… beautiful. _You need to let that thought go right quick and in a hurry._ He told himself as he followed close behind her, having to weave through people in no time… just to keep up with her. She wore this slim fitting but obviously warm fur lined coat… he saw leathers beneath it whenever she turned, her fur wrapped boots up her calves… and some sort of leather top beneath it all. Her blonde hair was free of the many braids she had it in yesterday and whenever he got close enough, he caught the distinct scent of honey and lavender… she was freshly bathed. He didn’t just notice her… he noticed the path they took… and the looks he was getting. Some were curious… some were warry… but a _lot_ of them were almost angry. For many in this hold, he was unwelcome. He felt the magic before they walked up to the cabin that was the highest that he’d seen in the hold thus far… and when she took him inside, he immediately tensed and started backing out of the single roomed dwelling only to feel a strong grip on his wrist, pulling him forward.

Arainne made an exasperated face at the lowlander as she pulled him back inside. “This is Karon, he is our Augur.” She said pointedly, eyes locking with the elder for that moment. “You are in no danger here, lowlander.” She reached behind him and shut the door, barring it in the next breath.

Cullen eyed the mage that stood amongst the spirits that drifted around him. “Yeah huh.” He said doubtfully, hand settling on his sword hilt. “You’ll forgive my nervousness… me and mine just got through fighting an army of demons controlled by a madman that thought to unmake the world…” He muttered most of that.

Karon smirked good naturedly, holding his hands out to Arainne, accepting the kiss to his cheek before releasing her. “I find that I am not always a madman, only on special occasions.” He gestured for them to sit, while he remained standing, as was the way. “Arainne has brought you to me, as is the custom of this hold, lowlander. To receive the blessing of the gods… so that you may remain amongst us.”

Cullen took an uneasy seat, only because Hadane did. The mage’s voice… was admittedly, soothing in its own way… and he didn’t display the traditional traits of possession… but that caught him off guard. “Remain? Wait… what?” He looked to Hadane for clarification but it was the mage who spoke again.

Karon smirked at the man. “You will remain until the Thane feels that you have learned our ways… only then may a truce truly be found.”

Cullen’s brows rose slowly. “I… I can’t _stay_ here. I have…” He looked at Hadane pointedly. “I have duties… responsibilities. My men…” He shook his head slightly.

Arainne’s brows perked at him, disinterest slighting her expression. “Your task is obtain peace with the Avvar, is it not? This is how you complete that task.”

Karon fought the grin that was pulling at him as his eyes flicked between the two. “Never be that mind… the blessing! The Gods grow restless.” He gestured towards the man, his eyes flashing slightly… the fire shifting, veil fire growing within it. “Ah… Hakkon favors you, warrior… as does Korth… but…” He saw the blue tinted spirit drifting around Arainne, as it often did. “The Lady… the Lady keeps her distance.”

Cullen visibly stiffened as two spirits drifted closer to him, swirling around him… he heard… whispers… he immediately tried not to listen but… he heard… swords… clashing… shields… bashing… animals… bears… horses… swore he felt the earth tremble beneath him… Karon drew his attention, he looked to Hadane and the spirit behind her. This spirit was… benevolent almost… genteel… and… he couldn’t look for very long, odd…

Karon saw the man look away from the Lady. “Ah… I see.” He gave a subtle nod. “The Lady does not bestow a blessing upon those who deem themselves unworthy, lowlander… you must right your heart and your mind… then… then she will come to you.” He gestured, a wave of his hand in a sweeping motion. “Now… the blessings are done… you may go.”


	6. Chapter 6

Cullen waited outside the cabin for Hadane… and once she appeared, he immediately rounded on her. “I cannot stay here.” He said again.

Arainne gave him a disinterested look before speaking. “Lowlander…”

Cullen interrupted her with a glower. “My name is Cullen, I know you heard me when I introduced myself.”

Arainne’s brows perked with his sharp tone. Maybe he needed to eat… she thought to herself. “Cullen… you need to understand something.” She gestured he walk with her over to the railing, to overlook the hold below.

Cullen joined her and the view… well, he was never one for sharp drop offs but he… almost couldn’t believe the size of the hold, it was… much larger than he originally thought.

“Avvar do not trust lowlanders. As I’m sure you have figured out by now.” When he nodded, she continued. “To give the word of peace to my Mother Thane, you must be an Avvar… and to be an Avvar, you must know our ways… live as we do… hunt as we do… think as we do… _feel_ as we do… for the word of a lowlander, no matter how sincere it may be… means nothing to us.” She gave him a high browed nod.

Cullen took a heavy breath at her words… he was poised to argue when she spoke again before leaving him to his thoughts. _Sometimes, who we are and who we were meant to be are two different people… perhaps your body fights who you are… perhaps you’ll find peace while seeking it. Think it over, lowlander._ And he did… for hours he stood there, looking over the hold and the sea… watching the people… watching the Augur as he appeared to tend his small garden… and then disappear back into his hut when a woman brought her babe to be blessed… the joy on the man’s face when he did the blessing, he saw through the open window… the people he lived simple lives… but they all _lived_. He sent a bird to the forward camp that afternoon and returned to Hadane’s cabin.

_Rylen, fear not- I am well. The Avvar have traditions for peace talks, this may take a lot longer than anticipated. Send word to the Inquisition. I don’t know how long this is going to take. -Cullen_


	7. Chapter 7

Cullen rubbed at his shoulder, rolling the muscle, stretching his sword arm out… well, his _other_ sword arm. For three weeks, he’d been training with the Avvar warriors. He learned that… they didn’t rely on a single arm… they trained to use both, with sword and shield… and his body was punishing him for it. But… in a good way. He chuckled low at Denain, the man who’d taken him on as a second… the man was currently pointing out some of the younger men, teenagers… who were squabbling over who’d just won a match that neither of them had even participated in. _Lowlander!_ He groaned and looked over his shoulder at Arainne, he knew now how to say her name properly. He walked over to the railing of the training yards and took a lean, scratching his upper lip, his beard having grown in to a length where it was just soft enough but still got itchy with sweat sometimes. “You could use my name every once and awhile, it wouldn’t kill you.” He took the offered wine skin.

Arainne smirked at him, leaning on the other side and watching the teens start to wrestle in the sands. “It might.” She tugged at some of the curls that rested on his neck when he turned to drink. “We got hunting tonight, be ready.”

Cullen rolled his eyes before handing the skin back. “Aye.” He gave a subtle nod, shoved off and returned to Denain, shaking his head at the teens, slapping at the man’s arm and pointing. After they shared a laugh over it though, he noticed Denain was acting… odd. “What?” He asked when the man cut his eyes at him _again_.

Denain shook his head before kicking his chin towards the railing, Arainne was long gone but the railing wasn’t. “You should watch yourself, lowlander.”

Cullen blinked… Denain hadn’t called him that since he took him on as a second… he’d never admit that it stung. “What are you talking about?” He put the rope down that he’d been working on knotting for the younger classes’ training.

Denain didn’t put his rope down, kept working but he spoke clearly. “You flirt too much.” He said with a sure look to the man.

Cullen blinked rapidly before he barked out a laugh, shaking his head at him. “With who?!” He gave him a disbelieving look.

Denain just stared at him, waited for him to regain his composure. “Arainne.” He held his eye carefully. “She is beautiful… strong… a fine woman.” He said low… his gaze turning harder as he did. “But she is not for you.”

Cullen blinked at him, sobering. “Denain… I don’t… there’s nothing there.”

Denain pursed his lips in minute thought before continuing. “But you want there to be… and that’s dangerous, Cullen.” He leaned in. “The Avvar do things like this very specifically… and you have no hold to back you up… pursuit her… and it could get you killed.”

Cullen shook his head at him. “Denain… there… it…” He let out a breath and looked out over the training grounds. “That’s not a concern… I’m not here for that.” He took the rope up once more. “I’d be lying if I said that Arainne isn’t tempting… but there can never be anything there… and that has nothing to do with her being Avvar.” He held his eye carefully there at the end before concentrating on his work once more.

Denain wanted to believe him. He hoped the man knew what he was talking about… he hoped the man wasn’t… he just hoped.


	8. Chapter 8

Cullen didn’t want to think on what Denain had said earlier in the day… but he couldn’t help it. Now, he was hyperaware of everything he said to Arainne… and the way she was interacting with him. _Was_ he flirting? Hell, it had been so long, he didn’t even know at this point. Was she reciprocating? Or were they just being friendly? He crouched low, sliding under one of the massive roots of the barrow tree, the darkness a thick blanket around them, the bow held loosely in his grasp… he’d never been one for archery but he was learning.

Arainne followed, her eyes focused… ears tuned into the forest. She’d taken him deeper into the wood this time… just as any hunter in training, she treated him no different. He was simply older. She heard a twig snap… he heard it a fraction of a second after she, they both froze… her hand settled on his shoulder… she extended a finger, sliding it into his view… the stag was barely visible against the foliage.

Cullen saw it… he gave a subtle nod… arrow shifted from one hand to the other, barely having to move it to knock it… he drew the bow… aimed… let it fly… heard the sickening _thunk_. He felt Arainne’s hands on his shoulders, giving them a congratulatory squeeze before they both left cover warily… they weren’t the only hunters in the wood.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where things go a little... odd.  
> NC17.

Cullen knelt there, his nerves a bundle of fray as he watched Arainne step in front of him… the fire casting a halo around her. She wore her under armor but her sleeves, he found, were removable… and they weren’t on her… she held a bark like bowl, the almost black blood swirling in it as she knelt in front of him, adjusting her skirting as she did so. He felt the warmth from the fire on his chest, the chill of the night on his back. He knew this was part of the Avvar’s ways but all he could think was _blood magic_. She had this expression that was… almost euphoric when she dipped her first three fingers into the slick liquid… and lift her hand. His eyes fluttered, his hands fisting on his leather covered thighs as he tensed… feeling her fingers slide from his brow down to his chin… he felt the warmth of the blood immediately cooling. He felt it again, from temple to temple… again on his neck… then on his chest… in circles. Then she was speaking… he opened his eyes… she was setting the bowl aside, holding her hands up as if in prayer. She was speaking their language but he heard _Korth_ in there… he knew that was their God, the Mountain Father. His pulse slowed… he felt no magic… but he saw it… on the other side of the fire… he could have sworn he saw… just for a moment… just a heartbeat… a man… standing there… with a bow in one hand… and piercing eyes… a smile tugging at his features… before he was gone. _Impossible_ , he thought as soon as he wondered if that hadn’t been _him_.

He looked back down at Arainne… and couldn’t help but think that she was… lovely… her head lolled back, throat exposed to him. He bit at his lower lip… for a moment… he entertained the uncharacteristic thought of leaning in and latching onto the column of that beautiful throat and marking her skin… he wondered if she would moan for him. He blinked rapidly and shook his head at that thought… chasing it out of his mind with a bewildered expression. He… didn’t feel right… he took a deep breath, rolling his neck, the muscles tightening… she was still… talking to the sky or… whatever it was that she was doing. He reached up and rubbed at his neck… inadvertently smearing the blood… his nostrils flared as he felt a shiver go down his spine… something… was wrong. She moved… oddly… as if she were dancing on her knees, her body like the wind, she moved so smoothly, her arms stretching, her head thrown back still… it sounded as if her voice was… echoing?

He… didn’t… his lips peeled apart as he took a ragged breath… his skin breaking out in chills. His eyes locked on her… the fire seemed to grow brighter in his vision, his pupils blowing wide open… her hair slid into her face, but she didn’t seem to notice. He didn’t… he rocked up onto his knees entirely, just as she had… his arms reached, wrapped around her waist, pulled her to him… she acted as though she was expecting it… he reached up, his hand cradling her neck, her hair spilling around it as he bent low… he felt her shift, bend to the side… he sent his breath over her neck, his nose flaring as he drug it along her skin… he felt warmth spill down his back, from his neck to his leathers… the blood feeling like… fire… but… it didn’t burn. His cock swelled, feeling her move in his arms… then her hands… on his back, shoulders… in his hair… he reached down, gripped her rear tightly, tugged her to him… straightened them both as he growled low… that… wasn’t him… he didn’t… he turned them away from the fire as he started tugging her skirts up… what… he shook his head slightly, trying to clear it… but he couldn’t.

He… he _wanted_. He _needed_. He pitched their balance and fell onto her, the earth softening their fall… when it should have hurt… he heard fabric tearing… his fists gripping her skirt… he felt… urgent. He nipped at her jaw, felt skin beneath his palms… the delicate skin where her thigh met her hip had him shudder… he felt… an unnamed hunger fill him up as he fell between her legs… his jaw trembled as he reached between them, his fingers shaking as he jerked his belt free… he shook his head sharply, trying to clear it… he felt… dizzy almost. He couldn’t think clearly… he wasn’t… he didn’t know what… his fingers clawed at the earth when he freed his aching length. She was writhing beneath him, her hands moving all over him, he felt as though he was… this was not him! He slammed his eyes shut, a flash in his mind… the man with the bow… that slight smile… his spine twisted, his entire body surged forward as he felt her part against the head of his cock… _NO!_ His mind screamed… but his hips snapped, he drove himself into her… he shadowed her lips in a fashion, felt her hand on his cheek… he shook, trembled… clapped a hand to her jaw… he had to… he couldn’t… control his body. He felt the earth shake beneath them… the fire burn brighter… his hips swung, his boots dug into the ground, his knees spread, soil gathering around them… he gripped the earth with his other hand as he moved. Her voice rose up around them, filling the air as he filled her… over and over again…

His skin was slick, hers the same… her top torn open… his leathers down around his thigh and shin, one knee bare… his hair soaked with sweat… he felt her tighten around him… she screamed for him… the lightning flashed above them, again… had been since he buried himself into her… Cullen was all feeling, all instinct, all… whatever this was! He stopped thinking some time ago… his body was all tense, all his muscles straining as he worked… his mouth fell open as she came undone beneath him, he felt her body pulsing around him… he groaned deep as she screamed for him. He jerked out of her, his hands on her hips, he flipped her roughly, jerked her back up to him… a heartbeat later he was sliding back into her, she cried out, he threw his head back as he spread his legs further… his ankles locking over the back of her knees, he held onto her hips as he moved… the sounds she made felt like spikes of pleasure being driven into him. His was far from quiet himself… he groaned near constantly… the feeling of her as he drove himself into her, thrusting into her tight heat as hard as he could, reaching deep into her… he felt himself grow heavy… he tried to… he had to withdraw from her before… he had… he couldn’t… control even a moment. He felt himself grow harder, his chin aimed for his chest, eyes slammed shut as his body tensed entirely, he felt her body start to throb around him, her whining moan lilt the air again… he cried out, near screamed himself… the earth lurched beneath them as he came… he felt his sack jerk up close to his body, the muscles between his legs pulsing, working to send his seed into her… he gripped her hips harshly, clawing at her as he thrust his groin forward, his flank trembling, thighs quivering as he groaned deep, his eyes flying open… blue irises flashing, a smile spreading over his face… his hand sliding up her back… gripping her hair as he withdrew and snapped his hips forward, lips twitching as she screamed for him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [unfinished chapter but I had to add this -snickers-]

Cullen woke up with a grimace, his arm thrown over his face… he squinted, his honey colored eyes fighting the morning light. He groaned, coughed, rolled… and immediately shot up to sit, a hand cupping himself… hiding his… where the _fuck_ were his clothes?!


End file.
